Part of the deal includes regular special events in the Kingdom, including the recent Greatest Royal Rumble, which was notable for the total exclusion of all female WWE talent either in the ring or on the mic.

The controversy doesn't end there, though, with Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen and the apparent murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi prompting many US, UK and European businesses to withdraw events from the Kingdom.

As it stands, the WWE is "monitoring the situation", and suggesting that WWE Crown Jewel is still going ahead.

It takes place onFriday, November 2 at 12pm ET/ 9am PT (4pm in the UK) at the provisional location of the King Saud University Stadium, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

If there is a Kick-Off show, it would start an hour earlier at 11am ET/3pm PT (3pm in the UK), and here is everything you need to know.

What's the location of WWE Crown Jewel?

The event was first announced to be taking place at the King Saud University Stadium, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and while that's not officially changed, all mentions of the venue have stopped on WWETV and have also seemingly been removed from promotional materials.

There are rumours of a move to a US venue or one in the UK, with the WWE being on tour here in early November.

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What's the full match card and predictions for WWE Crown Jewel

WWE Universal Championship: Braun Strowman vs Brock Lesnar

WWE

A very sad state of affairs led up to this one-on-one, with the champ Roman Reigns relinquishing his title in an emotional speech where he revealed he is battling leukaemia for the second time.

What was set to be a Triple Threat Match for Roman's crown is now a singles match for the vacant title.

It'll be hard to enjoy this knowing how it came about, but if we can force that out of our minds we've got a pretty stonking match here.

Brock Lesnar has gone from part-timer to barely-there-at-all-er but still has an air of mystique about him despite losing the championship and his UFC dalliances.

These are two massive, massive presences and it'll be like watching two freight trains on a collision course when they come together.

We're going for Braun here, partly because we so desperately want the Monster on top where he deserves to be, and partly because he does this week in and week out and should be raring to go.

PREDICTION: Braun Strowman

WWE Championship: AJ Styles (v) vs Samoa JOe

WWE

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After a bunch of feuds where he (eventually) came out on top, including an all-important decider against his Fight Forever rival The Miz, D-Bry finally got to be #1 Contender for the WWE Championship once more.

A dream match many of us thought we'd never see: AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan, in the WWE, for the WWE Championship, on pay-per-view.

But with the controversy surrounding the whole event, Daniel Bryan opted to stay home, which meant his match with AJ Styles was rushed a few days early on SmackDown Live.

Styles targeted Bryan's damaged knee and managed to pick up the win and retain his title, but then his old adversary Samoa Joe arrived on the scene and took out both men.

That inevitably led to this: ANOTHER rematch for Samoa Joe against his longtime ROH/TNA/WWE rival AJ Styles, with the belt on the line once more.

We're big, big fans of Joe here, but the experience of the last few months just doesn't convince us that he has the measure of the Phenomenal One at the moment.

Something needs to change for him to get that edge, and it hasn't happened yet.

We imagine that Show will be present at Crown Jewel to help even things up, as despite The New Day only sticking a couple of fellas in the ring for these matches, their third man always tends to play a crucial part on the outside.

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Despite Show's imposing presence, this really could go either way, as both teams are such well-oiled machines who can think on the fly in any situation.

We're going to opt for The Bar retaining, with Big Show making sure of things for the duo... though we're not entirely certain what he's looking for in return.

As for The New Day, it's overdue for all three men to go it alone.

Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E are all incredible individual talents, which is often overlooked such is the excellence of their teamwork.

No need for chair shots and recriminations though, the Smart Athletic Friends should have each other's backs as they seek, and achieve, singles success.

PREDICTION: The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus)

WWE World Cup

WWE

Confirmed participants:

John Cena Bobby Lashley

Kurt Angle

Jeff Hardy

Randy Orton

Seth Rollins

Dolph Ziggler

The Miz

Rey Mysterio

There'll be seven matches on the night (wowzers) with quarter, semis and a final to crown our World Cup Winner.

The brackets for the Quarters were confirmed a few days before the event and are as follows:

Quarter finals

A: Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins

PREDICTION: Bobby Lashley

B: Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler

PREDICTION: Kurt Angle

C: Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz

PREDICTION: The Miz

D: Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton

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PREDICTION: Rey Mysterio

Despite all the computations, we're willing to stick our necks out here.

Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton are still too concerned with battling each other to keep their eye on the prize.

Kurt Angle and John Cena have has the passion and experience but there'll be too much ring rust to win three matches on the night.

Semi finals

E: WINNER A vs WINNER B:

PREDICTION: Bobby Lashley

F: WINNER C vs WINNER D

PREDICTION: Rey Mysterio

Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins are dealing with too much emotional fallout from the recent betrayal they've suffered on Monday Night Raw.

That leaves a resurgent Bobby Lashley, The Miz and Rey Mysterio, and from recent evidence we can think of 619 reasons why this one's going to Rey.

We're in two minds on Shawn Michaels's comeback. Perhaps the only man in the company with a perfect retirement match and moment, throwing that all away and for what?

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We imagine the E is making it worth his while, and the line is that his pride has been seriously wounded by Taker's barbs. No respect = no retirement.

Whatever the story is here, the(ahem) bald truth is that there's three part-timers and one guy just out of retirement with a combined age of 27825789257 in the ring.

We're just hoping that all four manage to put on something special to warrant HBK's return, and we're thinking that hunger and drive on his return will help him win this one.

As for what's next? The word is a one-on-one rematch between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, either at Survivor Series this year or WrestleMania the next.

Depending on the stakes, that's something that could be very interesting indeed...

PREDICTION: D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels)

What date and start time is WWE Crown Jewel in the UK?

WWE Crown Jewel is on Friday, November 2and the event's start time is 4pm. Any Kick-Off show would start one hour earlier, at 3pm.

What date and start time is WWE Crown Jewel in the US?

WWE Crown Jewel is onFriday, November 2and the event's start time is 12pm ET/ 9am PT. Any Kick-Off show would start one hour earlier at 11am ET (8am PT).

How do I watch WWE Crown Jewel?

Given the volatile situation, tickets are not yet on sale for WWE Crown Jewel. As it stands, your options are either the WWE Network, which we highly recommend, or if you don't have a fast, reliable internet connection, the more traditional – and expensive – pay-per-view.

How do I live stream WWE Crown Jewel on the WWE Network?

The WWE Network is priced at £9.99 per month in the UK and $9.99 per month in the US – first-time subscribers get a month free.

You can access it via the following platforms and devices – click for info on how to access with each app:

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